Music and Meetings
by tech-17
Summary: "It's good to be able to play an instrument. Who knows, maybe you'll meet the girl you marry through music, like I did." My story of how Draco and Astoria got together. A bit of a companion to "Late Night Music and Kisses" though they both can stand alon


He was six years old when he started playing. His father informed him that it was honorable for pure bloods to play an instrument. He said he wanted to play the guitar, but his father said that was too common. So he took up violin. When he was a child, his parents made him practice, locking him in his room with the instrument for half an hour, and then an hour as he grew older. Practice paid off, and he became quite good. When he left for Hogwarts, he took his violin with him, only to be teased by his Slytherin dorm mates.

Thankfully for him, there was a music room at Hogwarts, located on the second floor. Most people didn't know that it existed. He would go there to practice, and was left in peace. It was like that for years, escaping Crabbe and Goyle was easy, if he left them in the common room they might not even notice he was gone for half an hour.

By his sixth year, he could have been considered an amazing musician, but most people didn't even know he played. He could have gone to the Room of Requirement to play, and guaranteed that he would be left alone, but he spent enough time there, and he didn't want to spend anymore time there. It was beginning to haunt him. He was no longer sure that he wanted this task, but he couldn't back out now. He would escape to the music room and loose himself in his violin music.

It was one of those times when he first played with her. He had ditched Crabbe and Goyle in the common room and snuck up to the music room. As he opened the door he heard piano music. Good piano music. The girl playing was a Slytherin, he had seen her in the common room a few times. He recognized her as Daphne's sister, what was her name? Astoria, that's right.

As she finished, he applauded, slowly, deliberately, alerting her of his presence. "Well done."

She blushed, ducking her head. "Thanks." She began gathering her music to leave.

Draco wasn't sure what prompted him to do so, perhaps he just wanted company of someone who wasn't in on Voldemort's scheme, but he said, "You don't have to leave."

This seemed to startle her. Draco crossed the room, retrieving his violin from where it was stored in a corner. "Do you know any duets?"

She nodded shyly, and started one of Beethoven's Sonatas. Draco smiled, he knew this one well. He often played duets with his mother when he was at home, as she played the piano. Beethoven was one of his favorite composers, due to the fact that he had been a wizard. Draco knew some Muggle classical music, but his father preferred the stuff that was by wizards, and had ingrained in Draco's head at a young age that magical musicians were better. He'd grown up playing Beethoven.

They played well together. Astoria was a natural musician, as was Draco. They spent about a half an hour playing together, and when they had finished, Draco found that he had forgotten, for a little while, the assignment hanging over his head, and the apprehension it brought him.

Draco headed back to get Crabbe and Goyle and go back to the Room of Requirement, and eventually forgot that chance encounter in the music room.

It was several years after the war. Nineteen year old Draco was at St. Mungo's visiting his mother. She had just gotten surgery, and he was visiting her while she recuperated. She was fine, but they wanted her to stay another day to make sure there were no complications. Narcissi had requested that her son bring his violin and play for her, and he had obeyed, knowing how much his mother loved music.

As he was leaving, he heard music coming from one of the common rooms for patients who had to stay in the hospital for a long time. Wandering in, he saw Astoria Greengrass playing for the patients. As he had the last time he had come upon her playing, he slowly applauded, making sure to stand out, so she would turn.

As he had expected, she turned on the bench, eyes lighting on his violin case. Draco slid his instrument out of the case, and Astoria started the beginning of the first sonata they had played together.

As they had years ago when they were fourteen and sixteen, they played beautifully, uncanny for two people who had never rehearsed together. Draco stuck around, playing several more duets, as well as a couple solos for the hospital patients. As he walked out of the hospital with Astoria she turned to him. "I come here every Wednesday to play for those people, if you'd like to join me again."

Draco said that perhaps he would and they went their separate ways. And he did show up the next week, and when they were done, he was the one to suggest that they rehearse together, finding more pieces that they both knew.

They spent a lot of time together rehearsing. After a month of playing for St Mungo's patients, Astoria started asking him to play with her at other places. Draco agreed. Two months after that first chance encounter, as they walked out of St. Mungo's, Draco turned to Astoria. "Are you doing anything this afternoon?"

When she replied that she wasn't, he blurted, "Would you like to go to lunch with me?" She simply smiled, nodding shyly. That became a tradition for them, playing for hospital patients Wednesday morning then going to lunch. Eventually Draco began to ask Astoria to other things, dinner one night or watching fireworks in the park during the summer. And after dating for almost a year, they were engaged, and married several months later.

Years later Draco looked at his seven year old son, explaining that it was good to play an instrument. He left out the bit about pure blood honor his father had told him. The boy nodded. "I wanna play the guitar!" That wasn't what Draco had in mind, but he supposed it would be alright. Astoria also taught the boy a bit of piano, but he did better with the guitar.

That was that until Scorpius was 10. "Dad, why do I have to practice piano?"

Draco smiled slightly. "It's good to be able to play an instrument. Who knows, maybe you'll meet the girl you marry through music, like I did."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at that, but years later he was discovered sitting under the piano in the Community Common room (the music room having been destroyed in the battle of Hogwarts) kissing the girl he would grow up to marry.

END

**Author Note: I don't play the violin, so I tried to not be specific, but if somehow I managed to include some inaccuracy, I apologize to the good people who actually play this wonderful instrument. Also, if you're interested, you can find the story of how Scorpius ended up under the piano and who he was with on my profile, under the name "**_**Late Night Music and Kisses**_**" by me.**

_**Reviews are much appreciated. Flames are poked with a stick.**_


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